march madness
by lmacey
Summary: March Madness in the McCord house! I've had this little story stored away since mid march, waiting to see if UVA could pull off the win tonight. Which they did! In honor of Henry and Elizabeth's alma mater winning the championship I thought I should post! Enjoy! Happy reading :)


March madness

It had become a tradition. Every year now. She had no idea when it first started. Most definitely before the kids had been born, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact time. They had both been basketball fanatics back in college. The couple attended every game they possibly could when time allowed. They enjoyed spending the time together, while supporting their school. Henry also found the way his usually calm and collected girlfriend shouted curse words at the so called 'awful' refs, rather adorable.

Their passion for the sport was shared with their kids. That being said, each and every year in the middle of March they completed their brackets, each member of the McCord family hoping their picks would advance well into the tournament. They were a highly competitive family, especially when it involved a parents vs kids bet. That being said, after the blank brackets were snatched from the printer, the family members would retreat to separate rooms, wanting to hide their predictions from one another. Elizabeth was always the first one finished, this year was no different.

She waited patiently for her family to appear in the dining room. They arrived one by one. Henry was the last one to descend the stairs. Lizzie narrowed her eyes glaring at her husband, trying to determine the cause of his smirk on his face. "You sure took your time, professor." She teased. He held his hands up defensively. "I have my secrets." Henry joined in on the playful banter. Their son scoffed at his dad. "Oh please. I bet you were looking up brackets online to copy." Jason commented. "Let's not forget who won last year." Henry replied, taking a seat next to his wife. "Tied." Elizabeth reminded. "Tied." Henry corrected. "Could you two please not start this again?" Allison pleaded. "Yeah listen to Ally, let's get down to business." Stevie said. The family quickly moved on, and effortlessly talked through their picks. Their kids seemed to be having the same idea in mind when choosing the number one seed North Carolina to win it all. The three teenagers were baffled upon discovering that their parents had their alma mater, and eight seed, coming out on top. Henry and Elizabeth merely responded with, "I have a feeling."

Elizabeth's work schedule changed drastically once moving to Washington. Holding the title of Secretary of State did come with downsides. And one of those disadvantages would be the long hours and late nights she had to put into her profession. That small bump in the road didn't stop her from getting her fix of the tension filled basketball. Her staff often caught her sneaking peaks of scores during conference meetings. On the rare slow day at The State Department she would even take it upon herself to lounge around on the sofa in her office watching the games. Blake laughed hearing the occasional words of profanity coming from his boss's open door.

The weeks went by quickly, and sadly the games came and gone. But as the motorcade approached Dolly and John Ramussen's home, the McCord's had a lot to be happy about. The kids disappeared once entering the house. Henry had said his hello's to Dolly before going off to find John. "I'm so glad you could make it." Dolly greeted her longtime friend with a hug. "Oh I couldn't even imagine missing this; it's a tradition." Bess exclaimed. Dolly chuckled. The woman's laughter came to a halt, noticing the small gift bag her friend was holding out towards her. "What's this?" She asked in curiosity. "For your birthday." Elizabeth answered. Dolly instantly shook her head. "You shouldn't have." She responded. "Yes. You know, I would have given anything to be at your party right?" Lizzie asked, still feeling guilty over the missed event. "Oh pish posh. You're off saving the world. I think I'll give you a pass."

Two other families Elizabeth and Henry had met a few times had also joined the McCord's and Ramussen's in their annual get together. After pouring herself a drink, Elizabeth set off to mingle with the friends she had little to no time to see anymore. The group caught up over dinner, sharing stories from the past. The happiness of being surrounded by her friends aided with the alcohol consumed, the memories, some of which revolved around her and Henry, left Elizabeth giggling. The chatting eventually slowed down once the game began. The kids seemed to appear right before tipoff.

"Nervous?" Elizabeth teased her son. Jason, who anxiously sat leaning forward on the couch, turned to his mother. "Why's that?" He asked. "Scared my Cavaliers are going to kick your Tar Heels ass?" Lizzie provoked, not minding letting the swear word slip. Jason rolled his eyes. Oh yeah everyone could see that Elizabeth was clearly proud of her former school's team for making it to the final. She was confident her team would beat out North Carolina. Plus she just wanted to beat her kids.

The game was a close one, but she didn't expect anything less. Lizzie had been attentive the entire first half, but either the referees had become significantly worse at making calls or she was just beginning to worry over the close score. Henry had lost his cool a few times, more so on a ridiculous call which cost UVA two points. The game was down to the last minute, and the teams were tied 73 to 73. "Ready to fall?" Allison addressed her parents from across the room. "I have faith." Henry commented. "Says the religion professor." John quipped, resulting in laughs amongst the group.

"Go!" Someone in the room shouted. "Yes." Elizabeth hissed while elatedly standing then falling back against the couch cushions in excitement. Henry pumped his fist in the air. Virginia had scored a basket putting them ahead, but it didn't last for long. North Carolina shot two free throws, tying the game back up once again. Elizabeth's elbows rested on her thighs. She was bent over nervously watching the screen, as Henry kneaded at her shoulders from behind her. There were eleven seconds remaining. Virginia's ball. Plenty of time to make a basket, if they made the right play. "Looks like overtime." Jason proclaimed, happy that his parents hadn't had the victory they had wanted just yet. They ran the ball down the court quickly. Six seconds on the clock. Number 34 passed the ball to the shooting guard. Number 55 quickly put the ball in the air as the final buzzer sounded. Elizabeth stood abruptly watching as the ball swooshed into the basket. She threw her hands up in excitement, as some others cheered. Henry quickly grabbed his wife and planted a kiss on her lips. They pulled away, smiles graced both of their faces. "And that's how you do it!" Henry yelled. Elizabeth bit her lip as she pointed at her kids teasingly. "Oh you should see your faces right now." She mocked. "Mom." Stevie complained. Lizzie held her hands up in defense. "Almost thirty years since they've won the Championship." Henry announced. "Not anymore." John responded, and high fived Henry.

After a bit of celebrating, Bess decided they'd better get going, being as they had to drive almost three hours to get back to DC. Elizabeth waved her goodbye to John, before enveloping Dolly in an embrace. "Do this again sometime." Lizzie said. "Definitely." The other woman answered as Elizabeth pulled away. "Take care of yourself, Elizabeth." Dolly yelled, as Bess walked down the path. "Same goes for you."

After about twenty minutes of gloating, and Elizabeth promptly reminding her children how her number eight seed knocked out their number one, the kids had had enough. They were simply mortified. After weeks of trash talking their parent's team, they were sad to see North Carolina lose, but even more humiliated that their parents had beat them. After listening to Show Me The Way by Peter Frampton, Lizzie's request, for about the tenth time Stevie huffed and laid her head back against the head rest. This car ride couldn't come to an end. "What are we doing?" Allison asked, being the first to notice the car's course. Jason turned his head to look outside the dark window. "No." He instantly protested, seeing the words University of Virginia across a brick wall. "Oh yes." Henry exclaimed. "We want to take a walk." Elizabeth explained. "Take a walk at home." Stevie said.

The couple walked hand in hand as they made their way across the walkways. The usually quiet campus was in full spirits. It was nearly midnight, and the university was wide awake. People left and right were roaming the streets in celebration over the huge win.

Lizzie leaned against Henry's back simply taking in the night air. "Can you believe this?" Elizabeth asked in awe. "What?" He questioned. "It's been twenty seven years since UVA had won the Championship. Twenty seven years." She said. There was a pause until Henry muttered, "You remember that night don't you?" Bess turned out of his arms so she could face him. "Of course I do. It was the first time you kissed me." She proclaimed. "Right here." Henry reminded her. She looked to her right at the old metal statue. "Twenty seven years ago." Lizzie said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Twenty seven years with you." He said sweetly, gazing into her beautifully blue eyes. Their faces were now mere inches from one another's. Henry's thumb rubbing against his wife's cheek. "God I love you." He murmured before meeting their lips in a passionate kiss.

The pair was brought back to the present hearing their kid's cheers. "Go Wahoos go!" Stevie stated to the oncoming group of college kids. "The Cavaliers are the best." Jason declared. "UVA went all the way." Ally exclaimed. The group laughed as they were passing. "Mom, this is so embarrassing!" Ally shouted from across the path. "Go Cavaliers!" A college boy shouted. Elizabeth rose her arms above her head and pumped her fists in excitement. The three siblings groaned at the action. "Babe I think we should call it a night." Henry announced. "You're no fun." She joked, as they grabbed hands again and started to make their way over to the kids. "I beg to differ. Do you happen to remember the rest of this night twenty seven years ago?" He teased. Her cheeks instantly blushed a light pink. "Now that brings me back." Lizzie replied.

"You guys are nuts for making us do that." Stevie declared. "Oh please." Henry waved off his daughter's dramatic statement. "I can't believe UVA actually won." Jason acknowledged. "They call it March madness for a reason." Elizabeth told him. "Come on let's go home." Henry said. He looped an arm around his wife's shoulder as they walked a few steps behind their kids. The teenagers were bickering over who they thought would win next year. Elizabeth laughed hearing their discussion, but decided to keep out of it. She was too at peace wrapped up in her husband's arms.


End file.
